S09.E02: Thederick's Story

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Thederick has become housebound from eating, and for ten years, he's only gone outside to greet the ice cream man. After a recent hospital scare, it's finally clicked that if Dr. Now's program doesn't work for him, nothing will. 

This is the regular episode thread.  Please post after watching the episode.  This is not live chat. 

Original air date 2021.01.06

[Concerned]

Two hours of nothing. Lost 100 pounds but no surgery. Weird dynamic with the mother was never explained. TheDerick dressed bad, talked bad, seemed to have a poor understanding of his situation and nutrition. Pretty dull generally. The show was obviously filmed before the pandemic so there might be an online update.

[Chatty Cake]

Thederick really annoyed me when he kept chastising the nutritionist for not stirring the lemon water she made him. And the way the mom just grinned and shook her head like lemon water is so gross but she had no problem giving the guy two liters of soda to wash down the loads of crap he was eating.

I get that these people are mentally ill both the patient and the enabler but sometimes I want to yell at them.

[Emkat]

His sister is really beautiful. 

[AZChristian]

Haven't watched the whole episode yet, but we were gobsmacked as to how much food he could stuff into his mouth at one time.  Literally, he was jamming in what I would consider as an entire meal. 

And what was with Mama calling him "Little Boy"?  She may qualify as the Most Enabling Enabler in the history of this show.  "Don't you take all that candy to your room.  If you do, you'd better not eat it all right away."  Said with a big grin on her face.

I'm sorry he had a crappy childhood, but it looked like his sister and brother may have been a couple of years older, so they experienced the same thing he did - death of a great-grandmother and father's incarceration.  He was using everything as an excuse for his eating, rather than finding alternative ways to deal with his issues.  

[sempervivum]

I'd be mildly interested to see a follow up episode. He seemed to be seriously motivated at the end, but I could also see him giving up and just eating himself to death. 

At least the house was clean, he was more or less groomed, we didn't get mooned, and there were no small animals to worry about. I hope he at least manages to get his lymphodema removed.

Edited January 7, 2021 by sempervivum
correct medical term

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really hope Thederick and his Mom both lose what they need to, and get healthy.   I hope he can have that giant Lymphedema removed too.    That thing must have weighed 50 lbs.   

[Pondlass1]

I’m no medical doctor of course but, to me, it seemed more important to remove that gigantic lymphoma so that he could at least walk and exercise. But maybe lymphoma removal is more complicated than bariatric surgery?

Both mother and son seemed a bit slow but at least the house was clean. I still think these participants need more therapy than surgery. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Lymphedema removal involves a lot of blood vessels, and can take longer than the gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.    That thing was huge.   

[auntjess]

2 hours ago, Pondlass1 said:

I’m no medical doctor of course but, to me, it seemed more important to remove that gigantic lymphoma so that he could at least walk and exercise. But maybe lymphoma removal is more complicated than bariatric surgery?

No, because at the end that's what Dr.Now was planning, and said it would be less stress on his heart.  I know on some others he did that first.

[Twopper]

Well, I forgot this was on last night so I missed the live chat.

I was going to say he seemed a little dense and not just in the physical sense.  He does get points for getting from Tallahassee to Houston without serious complaining even if it took 3 days.

In the discussion with the nutritionist, did the mom mention grapes?  Have they watched previous episodes?   I guess not, or they wouldn't have moved to Houston before he was approved.

I think since there is a delay before he can have surgery that Dr Now needs to get them into family counseling.  I can't believe she calls him "LIttle Boy."  She seemed not to do it later in the show;  it seemed passive aggressive to me.

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Lymphedema removal involves a lot of blood vessels, and can take longer than the gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.    That thing was huge.   

But Dr Now was going to do it first as he said it was a less stressful surgery.  I think it had to do with the anesthesia.  I think Dr Now was planning to do a bypass surgery rather than a sleeve on him so maybe that is the difference.   I wish they had a swimming pool for these patients--especially those with the lymphedemas as it would make it so much easier to exercise.

For what its worth---my eating habit last night was Mongolian beef with rice.  I had a handful of oreos and a large mug of eggnog with bourbon for dessert.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

7 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I'd be mildly interested to see a follow up episode. He seemed to be seriously motivated at the end, but I could also see him giving up and just eating himself to death. 

At least the house was clean, he was more or less groomed, we didn't get mooned, and there were no small animals to worry about. I hope he at least manages to get his lymphodema removed.

The house was clean because his mother was cleaning it.  She really is still caring for him like he's a child. 

[AZChristian]

21 minutes ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

The house was clean because his mother was cleaning it.  She really is still caring for him like he's a child. 

He even said that he wanted to lose weight so he could get his own place, and his mother would be expected to clean and cook for him.  She kind of protested, but she'd be there within a week of his begging her to be there for her "little boy."

[CrazyInAlabama]

I wonder if they could do a local anesthesia for the Lymphedema surgery?    Instead, of general anesthetic?   Or maybe his Lymphedema had a narrower origination than the stomach ones do?   

[TVbitch]

It seemed to me like both of them were on some kind of drug. Just the way they grinned like cheshire cats while Dr. Now was explaining how Thederick would be dead soon, and other strange times. Same when the nutritionist was there. 

[Crashcourse]

I thought the nutritionist was kind of useless.

[Aaron4102]

Did anyone else remember the nutritionist from the Lisa episode? I'm surprised she only showed him how to make healthy lemonade and didn't go through their cabinets/refrigerator/freezer and remove all the junk food like last time lol. 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Aaron4102

[kicotan]

3 hours ago, Twopper said:

For what its worth---my eating habit last night was Mongolian beef with rice.  I had a handful of oreos and a large mug of eggnog with bourbon for dessert.

Yum!  Mine was smoked chicken nachos & Tequila shots!

It always amazes me how folks weighing upwards of 600 pounds can walk...at least he had that going for him.

I can’t imagine mothering like that~I don’t care how lonely you are, that’s just wrong.  What she’s been doing for the last 10 (at least) years is abusive, especially since he neither shopped for nor prepared his own meals.  How does she manage that cheesy grin?

He said his lymphodema on his leg started poking out at 22, when he weighed 500 lbs.  She said she took him to the Dr. and they didn’t know what was going on.  WTF?  Why not see another Dr that has answers for you?

 

[jcbrown]

Another boring episode. Blerg.

[Texasmom1970]

Not kidding when his Mom first said little boy I was checking to see if he was hiding a kid!

[Cherrio]

20 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I thought the nutritionist was kind of useless.

She even left a full bag of sugar there.  I am sure both son and mother were thinking, good one less thing to buy this week.

[Crashcourse]

1 minute ago, Cherrio said:

She even left a full bag of sugar there.  I am sure both son and mother were thinking, good one less thing to buy this week.

Yes, leaving the sugar made no sense at all, especially since she was preaching about the dangers of sugar.  Also, I didn't understand why she wouldn't stir the lemon drink.  She seemed like she was on something. 

[AZChristian]

34 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Yes, leaving the sugar made no sense at all, especially since she was preaching about the dangers of sugar.  Also, I didn't understand why she wouldn't stir the lemon drink.  She seemed like she was on something. 

She's as good a nutritionist as Lola is a therapist.

These clients are doomed.

[fonfereksglen]

When I saw his name, I hoped that his mom was a fan of Monty Python.  Sadly, I was wrong.

[snarkish]

I am 10 minutes into this episode and and the family IQ level seems to be -180. It "HURT-ed" me. Lymphodema the size of an exercise ball, and let him eat a bag of ice cream bars for breakfast and let "Little Boy" take bags of candy to his room, but his "stomach hurt all night". Shoot me now.

I don't know if I'm going to make it much further this season. First The Vanilla Hippo. And now Little Boy.

My 600 Pound Life 2020: It can't get worse than this season. My 600 Pound Life 2021: Hold my beer.

[Twopper]

18 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Yes, leaving the sugar made no sense at all, especially since she was preaching about the dangers of sugar.  Also, I didn't understand why she wouldn't stir the lemon drink.  She seemed like she was on something. 

Well, the "little boy" and his enabling mom also seem like they are on something, too. 

I sorta understand about the lemonade.  I never drank it often until COVID.   I work with children in a theater program, and we served them lemonade at some of the rehearsals.  I was fine with lemonade on occasion, but i realized I missed it when we went to zoom.  So I started buying lemonade, and we drink it at lunch.  I credit this for the pounds I have gained.  Lemonade is worse than grapes!!!!!

 

[Pondlass1]

None of them seem to actually taste and enjoy the food, just ram it in and swallow. Fast food rarely needs much chewing I guess. They must have fabulous gall bladders. 

[Crashcourse]

1 hour ago, Twopper said:

I sorta understand about the lemonade.  I never drank it often until COVID.   I work with children in a theater program, and we served them lemonade at some of the rehearsals.  I was fine with lemonade on occasion, but i realized I missed it when we went to zoom.  So I started buying lemonade, and we drink it at lunch.  I credit this for the pounds I have gained.  Lemonade is worse than grapes!!!!!

My issue wasn't that it was lemonade, but that she refused to stir it.  That's what was strange to me.  She was just weird.

[Twopper]

49 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

My issue wasn't that it was lemonade, but that she refused to stir it.  That's what was strange to me.  She was just weird.

what I meant about the lemonade was how much sugar is in it.   I did think not stirring it was strange.  Also I want ice in my lemonade.

[Hellohappylife]

This episode did not need to be 2 hours, if you’re gonna make it 2 hours TLC at-least give us some drama. Watching a grown man eat M&M’s and Cheeto’s as a meal is only entertaining for 2 minutes. 

I know it’s mean to say but I was seriously shocked to see That his brother and sister are normal weight? Also Again, this week another pounder using the excuse of “ insert name here” died when I was 5. Death of a loved one is tragic & it’s the one thing we can all relate with each other,but his grandma died 27 years ago, he is 32 now, if that’s honestly the reason why he eats so much then he needs to seek help to get past that in a healthier way. 

I don’t know how these people wake up everyday knowing they have no plans, nothing to do,no one to see, no where to go,just food and the same 4 walls. It’s just so depressing. I’m sure a lot of us felt that way when the pandemic first started, but these people live this way by CHOICE. 

[the-grey-lady]

We are 9 days into 2021, and I just watched:

1. a mother claim that she doesn't consider herself an enabler as she delivers her 32-year-old son the contents of a Walgreens candy aisle (and then chastises him for eating it – did she think he was going to use it to make some kind of avant garde sculpture?).

2. Thederick seriously inform the camera that he considers his daily walk outside to meet the ice cream man to be his exercise for the day.

On the upside, I'm no longer hungry.

[lilysmom]

4 hours ago, Hellohappylife said:

This episode did not need to be 2 hours, if you’re gonna make it 2 hours TLC at-least give us some drama. Watching a grown man eat M&M’s and Cheeto’s as a meal is only entertaining for 2 minutes. 

I know it’s mean to say but I was seriously shocked to see That his brother and sister are normal weight? Also Again, this week another pounder using the excuse of “ insert name here” died when I was 5. Death of a loved one is tragic & it’s the one thing we can all relate with each other,but his grandma died 27 years ago, he is 32 now, if that’s honestly the reason why he eats so much then he needs to seek help to get past that in a healthier way. 

I don’t know how these people wake up everyday knowing they have no plans, nothing to do,no one to see, no where to go,just food and the same 4 walls. It’s just so depressing. I’m sure a lot of us felt that way when the pandemic first started, but these people live this way by CHOICE. 

And didn't he say it was his great grandmother? My children were blessed with having their great grandmother for many years, and they certainly mourned her passing. But none of them 27 years later are packing away 2 day's worth of food every meal.

I think production asks them why they think they started eating so much, and that is the easiest answer.

5 hours ago, Twopper said:

what I meant about the lemonade was how much sugar is in it.   I did think not stirring it was strange.  Also I want ice in my lemonade.

She said she was putting Stevia in it, an artificial sweetener.

[Twopper]

22 minutes ago, lilysmom said:

She said she was putting Stevia in it, an artificial sweetener.

I meant that she showed them how much sugar was in regular lemonade, and then she showed them her version with the stevia.

I used stevia for a while' I forget why we stopped.

I would have stirred the "diet lemonade" she made.

[JunkFoodTV]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:07 PM, snarkish said:

I don't know if I'm going to make it much further this season. First The Vanilla Hippo. And now Little Boy.

My 600 Pound Life 2020: It can't get worse than this season. My 600 Pound Life 2021: Hold my beer.

Just when I was wondering what my resolution should be....

[FormeryHeavyJ]

23 hours ago, Twopper said:

Well, the "little boy" and his enabling mom also seem like they are on something, too. 

I sorta understand about the lemonade.  I never drank it often until COVID.   I work with children in a theater program, and we served them lemonade at some of the rehearsals.  I was fine with lemonade on occasion, but i realized I missed it when we went to zoom.  So I started buying lemonade, and we drink it at lunch.  I credit this for the pounds I have gained.  Lemonade is worse than grapes!!!!!

 

I tried the 4C zero calorie pink lemonade additive to a bottle of water.  Not a huge lemonade fan but wanted to try something different.  Just a little advice....when the directions on the side say "2 squeezes" DO NOT do 2 squeezes.  Perhaps my squeezes were just a smidge too big.  I took one sip & nearly spit it out.  Turns out that my "2 squeezes" used up half the small bottle.  Live & learn.

[ClareWalks]

Re: her stirring the lemonade, yes, stir it, but this was not her damn house. She didn't bring a proper spoon. Either Thederick or his mother (which BTW why were they squeezed together on the loveseat?) could have waddled to the damn kitchen and gotten a spoon.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

39 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Re: her stirring the lemonade, yes, stir it, but this was not her damn house. She didn't bring a proper spoon. Either Thederick or his mother (which BTW why were they squeezed together on the loveseat?) could have waddled to the damn kitchen and gotten a spoon.

That loveseat deserved hazard pay.  It was probably begging to  be put out of its misery. 

[Scarlett45]

On 1/9/2021 at 1:12 PM, Hellohappylife said:

This episode did not need to be 2 hours, if you’re gonna make it 2 hours TLC at-least give us some drama. Watching a grown man eat M&M’s and Cheeto’s as a meal is only entertaining for 2 minutes. 

I know it’s mean to say but I was seriously shocked to see That his brother and sister are normal weight? Also Again, this week another pounder using the excuse of “ insert name here” died when I was 5. Death of a loved one is tragic & it’s the one thing we can all relate with each other,but his grandma died 27 years ago, he is 32 now, if that’s honestly the reason why he eats so much then he needs to seek help to get past that in a healthier way. 

I don’t know how these people wake up everyday knowing they have no plans, nothing to do,no one to see, no where to go,just food and the same 4 walls. It’s just so depressing. I’m sure a lot of us felt that way when the pandemic first started, but these people live this way by CHOICE. 

I believe Thederick has some kind of cognitive impairment. Just listening to him speak, his inflections, how he zoned out over food, the relationship with his mother etc.

He reminds me of many people my sister went to school with- my sister has a severe mental disability, her mental age is approx 18months -2yrs, (she turned 33 yesterday!) so with her and similarly situated persons it’s pretty obvious because she’s non verbal etc. But there is a population of people who are chronologically adults, in adult sized bodies who can speak in full sentences (thus “blend” into society) who are not capable of making adult choices because they just don’t have the mental capacity to do so.

I also think this is why his Mother was the way she was with him (not an excuse but a reason).  Controlling the food intake can be a constant battle with my sister, locks on the fridges only buying enough food for a week, fights, tantrums etc. Add in the guilt my Mom feels because “food is all she has”, I can see how Thederick’s mom got to where she is- I don’t AGREE but I see how it happened. 
 

As to your last paragraph- given my theories above I can see how Thederick can be very happy with his life situation outside of the physical pain obesity causes. My sister’s life hasn’t changed one wit during this pandemic- except I got her a firestick so she has Disney+ and YouTube. She’s very happy. But I put 100x more of the blame on his Mom. Don’t bring the food in the house! You’re supposed to be his caregiver. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I don't think Thederick had any impairments, but had been enabled his entire life.     Unless everyone in his life is on board with changing their enabling, and Thederick is really committed to change, then nothing will change long term.    I hope he kept with the program, and I hope he had the removal of that hideous Lymphedema. 

My question is how people kept enabling Thederick when he developed that giant Lymphedema he was dragging behind him.  

Edited January 13, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[cynicat]

6 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I believe Thederick has some kind of cognitive impairment. Just listening to him speak, his inflections, how he zoned out over food, the relationship with his mother etc.

Thedrick may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but some of his impairment was related to his congestive heart failure.  I'm pretty sure Dr. Now made mention of the decreased oxygen to his brain at one point, 

Apparently, I'm the only one who liked this episode.  Thedrick was a sweet, kind person and that made me smile.

[Concerned]

Where I live, the ice cream truck comes summer afternoons and is popular with children 4 through 9. Beyond that kids realize the ice cream isn’t that good, or that healthy and is kind of expensive. Occasionally a stoned teen will also line up with the little kids as a goof. TheDerick still buying from the ice cream truck tells me he has the mental age of an eight year old, or is incredibly stoned and possibly both. Why his mother, who looked put together, is poisoning her little boy was never explained.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Concerned said:

TheDerick still buying from the ice cream truck tells me he has the mental age of an eight year old, or is incredibly stoned and possibly both. Why his mother, who looked put together, is poisoning her little boy was never explained.

I assumed that because Thederick doesn't drive, he likes the snacks that come to him.

[aliya]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:45 PM, Twopper said:

I can't believe she calls him "LIttle Boy."  She seemed not to do it later in the show;  it seemed passive aggressive to me.

OK, maybe 'Little Boy' is too much, but my 43 yr old is still 'Pumpkin' and 'Little Boo' to me. 'Boo' actually came from the family calling him Boo Boo Bear, not the way boo is used today. He seems OK with it, but if I called him 'Little Boy' in public, yeah, he might have something to say.

 

[Hellohappylife]

12 hours ago, Concerned said:

Where I live, the ice cream truck comes summer afternoons and is popular with children 4 through 9. Beyond that kids realize the ice cream isn’t that good, or that healthy and is kind of expensive. Occasionally a stoned teen will also line up with the little kids as a goof. TheDerick still buying from the ice cream truck tells me he has the mental age of an eight year old, or is incredibly stoned and possibly both. Why his mother, who looked put together, is poisoning her little boy was never explained.

I wondered if he was aware he could get more “bang for his buck” had he purchased those overpriced snacks from a store, but then again it could be his saving grace. 

[Shauna]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:56 PM, Crashcourse said:

I thought the nutritionist was kind of useless.

I thought she would have went into the fridge and tossed out junk they have.  I'm sure these sessions are pre-planned and maybe the participants did not agree to having her rummage through their kitchen.

[evansmom10]

23 hours ago, Concerned said:

Where I live, the ice cream truck comes summer afternoons and is popular with children 4 through 9. Beyond that kids realize the ice cream isn’t that good, or that healthy and is kind of expensive. Occasionally a stoned teen will also line up with the little kids as a goof. TheDerick still buying from the ice cream truck tells me he has the mental age of an eight year old, or is incredibly stoned and possibly both. Why his mother, who looked put together, is poisoning her little boy was never explained.

I was getting a little Munchausen's-by-Proxy vibe from her!

[Drogo]

2021 update

 

[GrammyPammy]

After watching him eat the ice cream, I I went to my online  Walmart grocery app and added Nutty Buddies to my list. Dis is not a good sitchy-ashun.

[NeitherSparky]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:25 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I wonder if they could do a local anesthesia for the Lymphedema surgery?    Instead, of general anesthetic?   Or maybe his Lymphedema had a narrower origination than the stomach ones do?   

I had bunion correcting surgery and actually went into it assuming it would be local anesthetic. But the doctor told me it has to be general for two reasons, 1) so you don’t move on accident and 2) because they have to put a clamp on your leg to slow blood flow that would be uncomfortable even with local. So it’s possible a lymphedema surgery would need to be general for the same reasons.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I remember the same dietician going through Liz's fridge, and trashing a lot, so maybe after that the poundticipants tell the dietician to keep her hands out of their pantry and fridge?